The Department entered into a contract for the provision of accounts with CSL Group Ltd., effective from 1 April 1995. The contract, which covered an initial period of five years, was extended for a further two years. The cost of services is in part dependent upon volume of transactions. The average cost is approximately £2 million per annum.

The Department has also entered into a PFI agreement for the development of a new financial accounting system. Under the terms of the agreement, the costs of development (approx £10 million) are recoverable over the (10-year) life of the system.